Category: Plant Spotlight

Primrose Wanda in Pacific Northwest (PNW)

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I have been growing Primrose Wanda for over a decade. I started with one small plug and now I have many which forms a border in my front flower bed and dotted throughout my garden.
The deep purple with yellow centered flowers form tidy mounds with contrasting green foliage. Exceptionally hardy, and quite a sight in the early spring garden. Primroses are meant to be grown in part shade to full shade parts of the yard. However mine are in the sunniest parts of the garden and has been thriving likely due to our relatively cooler summer temperatures in the PNW area. The plant foliage depreciate in the heat of the summer. Plants spread by creeping rhizomes to form small clumps.I propagate these plants by dividing the clumps after the blooms are over in late spring.

Garden Design with Hosta

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Hosta’s are beautiful. The various textures, colors of the foliage is marvelous! And hence, they are by themselves are able to provide a unique visual interest. The first hosta I grew was given to me by a colleague in Microsoft and soon it became an obsession. I have hosta’s in different part of my yards, but there is a small bed in the north side of the house which is completely dedicated to hostas. And it is a favorite spot of mine. This bed also has the first hydrangea I ever grew, a Pieris JaponicaI, a Japanese Maple and ferns. I could have done more grooming to this garden bed, but even with the weeds and dead fern leaves, this garden always brings me a lot of joy!

I will have to divide the big yellow variegated hosta since it outgrew its space. I want to put a solid colored one here so that the colors blend well together. Maybe I will add astilbe’s too. I am continuing to collect more hosta’s and adding them to the shaded west side of the house. Can’t wait for that part of the yard to take shape.

Wandering Jew or Tradescantia Zebrina Plants

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Tradescantia zebrina, also known as wandering jews or spiderworts, are beautiful vining house plants which has lovely shiny foliage with stripes of white, green, silver, and purple colors. They are very easy to care for and equally easy to propagate.

The optimum requirements for this plant to grow and flourish is minimal. Wandering Jew doesn’t like to dry out but it doesn’t like to be constantly wet either. I water my plant every 2 weeks in winter and about once a week in summer. This is because in winter the plant (like all plants) are dormant and not actively growing. I have my plant in my kitchen window which is north facing, so it doesn’t get any direct sunlight.

I have not faced any disease / issues with my plant so far but I heard that aphids might be a problem. If so, the recommendation is it snip off the affected leaves, stems if there is an aphid attack.

Which brings me to the most fun topic which is how easy they are to propagate. I got my plant as a single stem from a gardening friend who was trimming hers. I stuck it in some potting soil and off it went. In less than a month, I saw new growth which led me to believe that the “stem” has now rooted and is an established plant by itself. However, I wanted a more bushier look. So I snipped off half of the original plant and planted it in the same pot and, Voila! Another one rooted. I now have a bushier looking plant and come warmer weather, I am sure it will bulk up more with more leaves and growth.

Here is a video of me taking a cutting from my original plant for rooting: